Term 2
2025
One man, One team, One voice, One choir
Issue
#2
Term 2
2025
Issue
#2
One man, One team, One voice, One choir
From baking to knitting to brewing, we in UPYC have truly proven that talent knows no bounds.
Lize has launched a tote bag business with her mom. Rodrigo has been helping out at his mom’s bakery by preparing batches of icing and frosting whenever needed. And of course, we’re all buzzing with excitement for the upcoming event at Naledi Farm.
Skyy, Reba, and Puse, who’ve been singing together for years, are now taking things to the next level. With the support of their parents and their trainer, a member of the night’s main act, they’ll be performing in Johannesburg on the 29th of June.
This just shows how much we’ve grown, not just as singers, but as people. UPYC has impacted us deeply, motivating us to fundraise passionately so we can continue doing what we love and take that to one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
In a world filled with chaos and the pressure to conform, it’s such a gift to come together every Friday afternoon – not just to sing, but to grow. As individuals, as artists, and most importantly, as a team, a unit, a family. That’s why moments like these mean so much.
I remember my first day of choir, the day a new world was unfolded to me. All it took for me to change my perspective about life was a few notes, not even a song just vocal warmup. My soul was enlightened when I heard all the voices become one.
When you understand music, you begin to get a glimpse of the power that sound holds. All of a sudden you don’t have to understand the language of the song to know what feeling is captured between the rows of notes.
We create a world of feelings when our voices begin to bend the air around us. Music rewrites the fate of the earth when the vibrations start floating away from us into the unfilled space of time. The sound can change the atmosphere of a room and all the hearts within it.
With every breath we use to form our sound we recreate our emotions and then our feelings is transmitted into our music. With each vibration we capture time.
When you listen to a song you travel back in time. You can feel how you felt the first time you heard it. You can find yourself in the space the music was made for and you understand the spirit is was written out.
If you open your eyes to the world of music your perspective changes. When you start to speak the language of music you will get a hint about what the power of music is. You start to see the footprint of music around you and realize how our lives are built on melodies, rhythms and harmonies.
This soprano has won overall winner (Seniors) and singer of the year at Eisteddfod.
May your voice grow even stronger with every note you sing.
These three gents have received full colours for choir at Pretoria Boys High School.
May your futures be as bold as your new blazers.
She passed an audition to attend the 15th Annual International Arts Talent Showcase.
May you be inspired beyond your imagination.
I close my eyes for a second, and suddenly I’m at the third tollgate. The slow transition from Tyla to Makhadzi from the cars around us tells me that we’re almost there. I can already see the “Welcome to Limpopo” sign. I watch out the window as the number of multi-story buildings with blazing, bright artificial lights is overtaken by towering mountains, framed by the hazy shimmer of the sun.
After a while, I see it – what I over the years have deemed a landmark to our destination (The big, brown baobab tree) With each town, a story from my aunt in the passenger seat, beginning with either, “This is where I…”, “Here, I met my…” or “Over there, your mother and I…” Then, finally, the small town that always prompts the question “Where is that?” from all who ask me where I am from: Semaneng.
My mom takes a final right, and as the car slows down in the last few meters of our journey, time seems to slow with it. I recognise the peach-yellow four-cornered house with a steel roof sheltering it.
The plumeria tree – so big that it stretches over the wire fence surrounding the yard. But all this just covers a quarter of the land. The remaining three-fourths hold the yield of my granny’s sweat and hours of work.
What stood out to me was the growth of the mango tree I had planted the previous year. The many calls I had with Koko, where she reassured me about her taking care of the tree, never stuck, but seeing its size today, I truly feel her love. A love that I have missed so very much amid the rush of city life.
As I step out of the car and allow my bare feet to make contact with the warm sand beneath me, I smile.
And then I hear it…”Areyeng gao ka bonaka”, a call to return home soon, growing louder and stronger with each repetition. The warmth of home, the mango tree…in the moment Botho made them feel so tangible, but as the harmonies continue, I realise I’m still in choir. And somehow, being there feels just like being home.
It lingers in the quiet moments, in the breeze, in the spaces between heartbeats.
It connects strangers who feel like they’ve known each other forever, through a single lyric, just one note.
When you sing, you don’t just make sound…you bloom.
You become the music, it becomes you.
Music heals, even when the words are foreign.
Because it speaks not to the mind, but to the heart.
Music is love.
Music is sorrow.
Music is everything were too afraid to say.
It is family.
It is memories.
And above all…
MUSIC IS LIFE!
After being on the same stage just 24 hours earlier, we were in for another night of performances. This time, with some of UP’s choirs; during performances Tuks Camerata, HSUP Choir, Onderstepoort, Community Choir, UP Ovuwa and of course UPYC.
However, this is not just any random concert, it was a special concert for all our UPYC mothers, after all it is Mother’s Day. Today we had to show our mothers that we truly love and appreciate them, we had to prove it by giving them a spectacular performance.
Shortly after performances by Onderstepoort and HSUP choirs, it was time to bless the Musaion with the presence of UPYC. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, they had been waiting all night for this moment. When I looked to the left of the Musaion, I saw my mother settling into her seat before we even started singing. That’s when I knew I had to be better than perfect, so the pressure was on not just for me, but for most, if not all, of us. We started singing my personal favourite, “The Music of Stillness,” and immediately, I was in the moment. I sang with a very sore throat all night, but I didn’t let that stop me.
As the evening progresses, Lhente introduces our very talented soloist Puse for a song called “Reya Ho Leboga.” Not even halfway through the song, I start to cry. I tried to hold it together, but as a strong Christian, the way Puse led and sang the song really made me feel closer to God. With all due respect, I never thought a girl would make me cry, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Becoming a tenor in the University of Pretoria Youth Choir (UPYC) has been one of the most inspiring journeys of my life. Through this choir, I’ve been able to connect with other choirs across the greater Tshwane area and form meaningful relationships with incredibly kind, talented, and passionate people I never expected to meet. Every interaction has been filled with warmth and growth.
As a tenor, I carry the thread that weaves between the highs and lows — the golden bridge between soaring sopranos and grounded basses. Our voice brings balance, colour, and strength to the choir’s harmony.
Singing tenor is like walking a tightrope of tone, where control and emotion must dance together. It’s both a challenge and a joy — one that’s sharpened my musicality and taught me how vital every part is in creating a beautiful whole.
Musically, UPYC has pushed me to grow beyond what I thought possible. I’ve developed a deeper interest in music, improved my vocal ability, and gained insight into the power of choral harmony and expression. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel with the choir — exploring new places and representing something greater than myself through song.
When I was asked to write for Cantus Times, I had to sit and decide which part of the UPYC journey I wanted to write about. Believe me, after 20 years, I have a lot to write about which I can share in more detail at a later stage. So many beautiful memories, amazing moments, and unbelievable people I have met through or because of UPYC.
But for now, I would like to narrow it down to what a special year we have had so far.
The immense talent of the 2025 choir is seen at every rehearsal and every concert. It is what makes me excited about Friday afternoons, even after a long week of work, family duties and trying to balance a personal life.
Having the honour to be able to nurture the singers we work with and see how they develop and grow as well-rounded individuals makes me excited to be part of their journeys through UPYC.
Our singers are practising something far deeper than just music. Think about it, choir teaches you to feel what someone else is feeling. Whether it is the singer next to you, the composer who wrote the music, the poet of the text, or even the audience’s experience in front of you
It teaches us to breathe together, to listen beyond words, to learn to adjust, collaborate and respond. Not just because someone tells you to, but because you care enough to be attuned with the people around you.
Concerts and rehearsals become a lesson in empathy. We ask singers to open their hearts in front of others, to take risks, to be vulnerable, and to do it all in total synchronicity. This is what emotional intelligence looks like. It’s not separate from musical excellence.
When we train choral musicians or musicians of any type, we’re trying to shape whole humans, and that’s why all of this matters…now more than ever.
One of my favourite quotes, “It is not what the world (the choir) holds for you, but what you bring to it.”. Thank you to everyone who lives and dedicates their time and energy to UPYC. I hope you will realise that being part of something bigger than yourself is what creates the most beautiful treasures for you.
UPYC, the family that gave me confidence.
Since I first saw my high-school choir perform I wanted to be apart of it. I got to sing in the junior choir, which was the first step to achieve my dream, and I was over the moon. However, when I did not pass the audition for the senior-choir it broke me. Even after trying 3 times, year after year, I watched my closest friends become part of that family I had always dreamed of while I was rejected each time.
As a teenager whose identity was rooted in choir being rejected a childhood dream really took a toll on me. I started doubting myself and my musical ability. I had heard of UPYC and even if I was sure I had no chance making it there if I could not even get into a high-school choir, after much convincing, I sent in my audition at the last possible moment. UPYC gave me my confidence back. The friends I made there have become like my family and the choir taught me that I can just be myself. Even though I didn’t know it back then, everything happens for a reason and the fact that you and I are here today is not a coincidence.
I love you UPYC, may you continue to make small differences in other teenagers’ lives that leave a big impact, just like you did in mine.
To be part of UPYC is to be woven into a rich tapestry of voices, each strand unique but inseparable from the whole. This is not simply a choir; it is a family, vibrant, spirited, and deeply connected collective where music is the bond, but love and support are the glue.
At first glance, what sets UPYC apart is its exceptional musicality, but beneath every perfect harmony lies something deeper: a culture of care. Members don’t just sing together; they grow together. They weather long rehearsals, auditions, and international competitions alone.
They celebrate victories not as personal triumphs but as shared achievements. When one singer struggles, the rest don’t move on—they gather, uplift, and carry that voice until it’s strong again. This unity indifference isn’t accidental; it’s nurtured through trust, listening, and the kind of empathy that transcends performance.
The choir room becomes a sacred space where every voice matters and where every silence is respected. Under the guidance of passionate leadership, UPYC is more than rehearsals and repertoire. It’s spontaneous birthday songs and shared meals after concerts. It’s the bus rides filled with jokes and naps and deep conversations about life.
It’s that unspoken look before the first note, and the collective sigh after the final one. These are the moments that transform the group into a family. Being part of UPYC means carrying a piece of that family wherever you go. It teaches you to speak with courage, to listen with heart, and to live with harmony—both on and off the stage.
In a world that often feels out of tune, UPYC is a rare and beautiful reminder: that when we dare to listen and sing together, we create more than music—we create belonging.
